Throwing parties for self-serving political purposes again

Summary: The media has begun speaking about Battistelli's super-expensive (and wasteful) bash in Saint-Germain-en-Laye (news which we broke over a month ago) and anger is expressed by people who are invited to Haar to celebrate exile

THE EPO moves fast from one scandal to another. Sometimes even too fast. This is today's fifth article about the EPO.

Earlier today someone left the message which can be seen in the following comment:

It seems that next year's "inventors of the year" event will also take place in Saint-Germain-en-Laye in June just at the end of Mr Battistelli's term of office. If true, it would be scandalous! But nobody in the Administrative Counci seems to be sensitive to this.

Apart from the fact that the EPO should remain neutral and refrain from rewarding any patent applicant/proprietor, just imagine the volume ot business (and money) involved in the organisation of such an event (hotels, transportation, catering, conference rooms etc.). This just in Mr Battistelli's home village (!!!!!!). A gorgeous farewell party for him paving his way to a political career at the expenses of the users of the EP system.

I've responded regarding Battistelli's “gift [that] he gave them at the EPO’s expense (estimated at about 3-5 million euros based on past years)”; it's a great boost to his political career. They'd owe him plenty.

What would the delegates say? Would they accept this French cronyism again?

People are already noticing the truth in spite of the media blackout in Germany. Here is an article for which we posted an automated translation. We did not want to depend on any automated translations (only Battistelli, who can't speak German, would trust such things if that suits his UPC agenda), but SUEPO now has a proper full English (and French) translation. It alludes to this SUEPO publication in German and is translated as follows: (this focuses a lot on nepotism and corruption like the above regarding Saint-Germain-en-Laye)

European Patent Office: Union seeks reckoning with the executive in 95 theses

01.11.2017

18:30 Stefan Krempl

Staff union SUEPO has had no hesitation in borrowing from Martin Luther when it came to a manifesto about the social unrest at the European Patent Office. The accusations against the management range from being deaf to the staff through to favouritism.

As a suitable tribute to Reformation Day, on Tuesday the international union at the European Patent Office SUEPO borrowed freely from Martin Luther in “nailing up” 95 theses at the Office’s headquarters in Munich. In the six-page paper, which is available at heise online, the staff representatives set out serious accusations against the management, and in particular against the President Benoît Battistelli still in office. According to the organization, he has been “deaf and blind to the concerns” of the workforce, and has persecuted their representatives by disciplinary action. Such a course of confrontation is “doomed to failure”.

At the core of the criticism is the assessment system largely imposed by Battistelli, which is said to be primarily aimed at productivity and “demands higher figures every year” . Such an approach creates false incentives and “leads to excessive pressure at work”, which in turn causes superficiality and errors, and is accordingly actually detrimental to greater efficiency. Patent which are issued with mistakes unfairly impede competition and are rich feeding grounds for trolls. This causes the European economy to suffer as a whole, and small and medium-sized companies in particular.

From servant to chief executive

The core task of the European Patent Office (EPO), in line with the European Patent Convention (EPC), is the “factual and formal examination” of applications, as the union emphasises. This must not be neglected simply in order to boost productivity and the income of the EPO and its contracting states. This is said to be aggravated by favouritism: The closest confidants of the President have rapidly risen from servants of the administration to chief executives. They are accused of having amassed “substantial salary increases” and professional liberties by tampering with the career system. Battistelli himself keeps his salary and the supplements and costs reimbursements paid to him a closely guarded secret.

Half of the directors in the “factual examination” sector, and “all of the managers in patent administration” have been relieved of their functions, the accusations continue. The President is even cutting back on public holidays, by cancelling a day off in 2017 to mark Reformation Day, as well as All Hallows and Corpus Christi Day in 2018. The fact that Battistelli is promoting a “package to denigrate his officers” under the label of “Social Democracy” is said to demonstrate indifference and a lack of respect towards the staff.

SUEPO keen to see Battistelli go - rapidly

The authors of the manifesto complain that the EPO does not see itself as bound either to national or European labour law or data protection directives, nor even to international agreements such as human rights conventions. In the eyes of the management, it enjoys almost absolute immunity from jurisdiction and the rule of law imposed by national authorities. That is why SUEPO is pressing for Battistelli to go before the official end of his term of office next June, and for wide-sweeping reforms to be introduced. The Frenchman personally has long regarded himself as being falsely discredited by a “Mafia-like” campaign on the part of the union and regularly rejects the accusations. (Stefan Krempl) / (axk)

Battistelli is already moving from one scandal to another. He is now trying to 'grease up' the delegates (yet again). A source told us that Battistelli is throwing a party for the Administrative Council (AC) in Haar. If someone could please leak to us the invitation to the chairs of the AC, we would certainly publish that.

Our understanding is that Yesterday the PR of the Boards of Appeal sent an invitation to the chairs and we can assume it was sent to all of them. On the 13^th of December they plan to celebrate the inauguration of the Haar building by taking the AC out there at lunchtime. "Chairs are refusing to attend," a source has told us. ⬆